Month: October 2023

IBLA Exclusive: Business leaders weigh in on work life balance amid Narayan Murthy’s ’70-hour workweek’ suggestion

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Amid Infosys founder Narayana Murthy’s opinion that youngsters should choose to work 70 hours a week, jury members of the India Business Leaders Award (IBLA) on Tuesday, October 31 shared diverse perspectives on work life balance and 70- hours a week productivity, during a panel discussion.

Shyam Srinivasan, MD & CEO, Federal Bank advocated for a more integrated approach, advising hard work and smart choices over a strict work-life balance while Anish Shah, MD & CEO of the Mahindra Group, stressed the importance of individual balance and the evolving nature of this equilibrium as one progresses through their career.

“I know I’m going to become terribly unpopular, I don’t believe in this line of work life balance,” said Srinivasan, “I’m not saying it in light, I think it’s probably integration, people have to figure it out themselves best. You can’t expect the lifestyle of your grandson with the salary of your grandfather, let’s be clear about it. You have to put in the hard yards, find the best way to do it, do it at home, do it at work, location agnostic. Gone are the days of entitlement, you can’t sit back and expect everything to come to you.”

While Shah who believes that “it’s very important for each person to have a balance that works for them” said, “balance is very important for each person to see. It’s also for each person to decide how that balance changes over time. And at times, you will work hard at times, you might want a little more balance from a work life standpoint. And hard work is essential. So I am not going to say that, it’s okay to sit back and have a great balance and expect your career to go very well. So I think it’s a combination of both of those things.”

Zarin Daruwala, Cluster CEO – India & S Asia, Standard Chartered Bank highlighted their supportive policies, including paternity leave and on-site creches. “So we have certain policies, and now we have paternity leaves. So even that is something that most organizations don’t have we have introduced, but we have creches in our buildings,” she said. “We have the support system for women and I mean, if somebody is having a personal issue and wants to work from home, it’s fine. But it’s more about supporting the person at different stages is what we focus on,” Daruwala said.

Sandhya Devanathan, VP at Meta India, underlined the importance of gender equality and building support systems for all employees. She said, “If we want to be an $8 trillion economy, it’s not going to come if women aren’t equally participating in that.”

“We have to build the support systems that enable them to participate in the workforce equally. And I am not saying 70 hours is good or bad. But I am saying system has to work for everyone, it has to work for people taking care of young families, men and women not just not just looking at a work lens,” Devanathan added.

Hindustan Unilever MD & CEO Rohit Jawa emphasized their trust-based approach, valuing outcomes over hours worked, and focusing on employee well-being. “We do believe in flexibility and we believe in trusting our people. So we have Hybrid model that said, we judge people outcomes not by number of hours they put in. I think people do work very hard, I must say even, we don’t count it but we know that they work very, very hard…I think it’s really about having an open culture, trusting people, basically driven intrinsically from their own desire to do well,” Jawa said.

Discussed the need for a motivated and values-driven young workforce, Manny Maceda, CEO of Bain & Company, said, “The fact that you still have a population dividend that is willing to have aspirations, have some reasonable amount of hard work to achieve that, and with a generation that hopefully, is also looking to have values that are consistent which you are trying to save climate, electric vehicles, diversity, if your young workforce, that is the fastest growing population at this scale in the world gets the balance of all of that that will be a real source of competitive advantage for India in the world, because otherwise, I haven’t gotten this right.”

Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder & CFO of Zerodha, emphasized the value of competition within a capitalist framework and recognized the government’s efforts in this direction. “Let me not say what is better or what is worse, I feel like there is so much precedent to four day workweeks, to the socialist leaning policies of some Nordic, Scandinavian countries or history for that matter to have shown that that form of ecosystem does not work as well as capitalism, not just for a category of people, but for the whole country at large.”

“I think the government has done a great job of recognizing that. Lower tax rate 25% for corporates is a great step in the right direction. So if we are all agreed on the fact that capitalism is the way to go, the very thing at the code that we need to cherish or celebrate is competitiveness, and everybody has to compete with everybody. I think net-net for society at large, that is what is required. So if you want to go out and compete by virtue of the number of hours you work, you should be able to do so I think.” Kamath added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

PAK vs BAN World Cup 2023: Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique hit fifties in Pakistan’s successful run chase against Bangladesh

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Pakistan openers Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique scored half centuries to guide their team in a successful run chase against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Making a comeback in the team, in place of Imam Ul Haq, Fakhar blasted 81 off 64 balls and Shafique notched 68 in 69 deliveries (his fourth score of fifty or more in this World Cup), as Pakistan had little trouble chasing a meager target of 205 set by Bangladesh.

The two batters featured in a 128-run partnership as they capitalized on some ordinary bowling by Bangladesh bowlers and favourable batting conditions.

Although the two batters could not stay in the middle until the winning run was scored, the half-centuries by the batters and their partnership put Pakistan on the fast track of a successful run chase.

Fakhar was rewarded with the Player of the Match award for his entertaining knock that consisted of three fours and seven sixes.

The victory keeps Pakistan alive in the race for qualifying for the semi-finals, but it is the end of the road for Bangladesh as far as semi-finals are concerned as they can no longer finish in the top four of the points table.

Follow CNBCTV18.com’s coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 here

Earlier, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and opted to bat first.

Bangladesh were jolted early as Shaheen Shah Afridi accounted for the wickets of young opener Tanzid Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto inside the first three overs.  With Tanzid’s wicket, Afridi became the Pakistani bowler quickest to 100 ODI wickets.

Mushfiqur Rahim also did not last long in the middle, as Haris Rauf dismissed the former Bangladesh captain in the sixth over.

At 23/3, Bangladesh was in deep trouble. That is when Litton Das and Mahmudullah came together and built a 79-run partnership. Das looked set for a half-century, but he played a poor shot against Iftikhar Ahmed to hole an easy catch to Agha Salman at short mid-wicket.

Mahmudullah continued his good form in this World Cup and completed his half-century soon after Das’s wicket. The 37-year-old kept Bangladesh hopeful of getting to a big score, but he could not survive an away-going delivery by Afridi and lost his stumps. Mahmudullah walked back after scoring 56 off 70 balls.

Coming into this match, there were questions around Shakib’s form with the bat. But the Bangladesh captain looked determined to prove his critiques wrong against a good Pakistan bowling attack, and on a difficult pitch, he came up with a valuable knock of 43. Shakib was warming up to play big shots towards the end as the Bangladesh innings was about to enter its final 10 overs, but he miscued a ball from Haris Rauf and ended up giving a straight-forward catch to Salman Ali Agha at mid-wicket.

After Shakib’s wicket, Pakistan speedster Mohammad Wasim Jr. produced a death over special as he rattled the stumps of Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman in quick succession to end the Bangladesh innings at just 205.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Star Health profit rises to ₹125 crore in Q2

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Star Health and Allied Insurance on Tuesday reported a 34 percent increase in net profit to ₹125 crore for the September quarter. The standalone health insurer posted a net profit of ₹93 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s total income in the second quarter of the ongoing fiscal rose to ₹3,357 crore against ₹2,918 crore in the year-ago period, Star Health said in a regulatory filing.

Its gross written premium increased to ₹3,732 crore during the quarter as against ₹3,193 crore a year ago, it added.

Also Read:Star Health shares: Nuvama initiates coverage on RJ-backed stock with target of Rs 770

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Net zero emission positive solution to combat air pollution and boost green tech: Jayant Sinha 

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Kolkata Police arrests a man selling India vs South Africa World Cup match tickets

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Kolkata Police has arrested a a man named Ankit Agarwal was arrested for selling the ICC Cricket World Cup India vs South Africa match tickets worth Rs. 2500 at Rs. 11,000 each.

According to a post by news agency ANI on X (formerly Twitter)

Ankit Agarwal was arrested for selling the ICC Cricket World Cup India Vs South Africa match tickets worth Rs. 2500 at Rs. 11,000 each. Kolkata Police seized a total of 20 tickets from his possession for the India Vs South Africa match which is going to be held on November 5.

India and South Africa are going to face each other in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 at Eden Gardens on November 5.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India hikes windfall profit tax on crude oil, cuts levy on diesel exports

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The government on Tuesday increased the windfall profit tax on crude oil produced in the country and reduced the levy on exports of diesel. The tax, levied in the form of Special Additional Excise Duty or SAED, on domestically produced crude oil was increased to Rs 9,800 per tonne from Rs 9,050 a tonne, according to an official notification.

SAED on the export of diesel was reduced to Rs 2 per litre from Rs 4 a litre and on jet fuel or ATF to nil from Rs 1, the notification said. SAED on export of petrol will continue to be zero.

The new tax rates will come into effect from Wednesday. India first imposed windfall profit taxes on July 1 last year, joining a growing number of nations that tax supernormal profits of energy companies. At that time, export duties of Rs 6 per litre (USD 12 per barrel) each were levied on petrol and ATF and Rs 13 a litre (USD 26 a barrel) on diesel.

A Rs 23,250 per tonne (USD 40 per barrel) windfall profit tax on crude oil produced by companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was also levied. The tax rates are reviewed every fortnight based on average oil prices in the previous two weeks.

A windfall tax is levied on domestic crude oil if rates of the global benchmark rise above USD 75 per barrel. Export of diesel, ATF and petrol attract the levy if product cracks (or margins) rise above USD 20 per barrel. Product cracks or margins are the difference between crude oil (raw material) and finished petroleum products.

International crude oil prices averaged USD 90.17 per barrel in October. The levy on domestic crude oil dropped to nil in the first half of April as international crude oil prices fell but was back in the second half in step with a rise in rates.

Levy on diesel became nil in April but the levy was brought back in August. Levy on ATF became nil in March and was brought back in second half of August. The export tax on petrol was scrapped in the very first review.

Crude oil pumped out of the ground and from below the seabed is refined and converted into fuels like petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF). Reliance Industries Ltd, which operates the world’s largest single-location oil refinery complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat, and Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy are primary exporters of fuel in the country.

Also Read:India lowers windfall tax on crude petroleum to Rs 9,050 per tonne

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

PAK vs BAN World Cup 2023: Fakhar Zaman blasts a belligerent fifty on comeback

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Pakistan kept their semi-finals hopes alive as they beat Bangladesh by 7 wickets at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday. The Babar Azam led side had little problems in chasing a small target of 205 as they reached home in only 32.3 overs.

What put Pakistan on the fasttrack of the successful run chase was the reintroduction of Fakhar Zaman at top of the batting order.

The 33-year-old had missed had missed five of their six matches due to a knee injury and poor batting form.  With Fakhar out of action, one of the opening slot went to Imam-Ul-Haq. Haq failed to capitalize on the opportunity as he managed only one fifty in six innings while getting dismissed under forty on five other occasions.

Also Read: Shaheen Afridi becomes the quickest Pakistani and third fastest player overall to pick 100 wickets in ODIs

So the moment Fakhar was available for selection again, he was back in the playing XI and played in his most favoured position, opening the innings.

The move had an instant impact as Fakhar played a belligerent knock.

Fakhar wasted little time in getting into the thick of action as he whacked three fours and seven sixes en route to 81 off only 79 balls.  Fakhar’s innings rubbed off on his batting partner Abdullah Shafique in a positive manner as Shafique  too started playing big shots and completed his half-century too.

It is an open secret that Pakistan are a team that are least interested in hitting sixes and a data by Cricbuzz highlights this.

During his knock Fakhar hit three sixes inside the first 12 overs of the Pakistan innings. With that he became the first Pakistan batter to hit three sixes within the first 12 overs of an ODI since Shahid Afridi’s nine maximums against India in Kanpur in 2005 (where ball by ball data available).

Another data that highlights Pakistan’s aversion for sixes is that with seven maximums  Fakhar has now hit the second most sixes by a Pakistan batter in a World Cup match.  That list is headed by Imran Nazir who hit 8 sixes against Zimbabwe during the 2007 World Cup.

If Pakistan harbour any hopes of playing the semis then they need a player like Fakhar at the top of the order who can inject a lot of confidence in the team with fast starts and big sixes.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

El Niño Effect on Cotton Crop: Production likely to touch 15- year low, says CAI

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As per the first estimates of the Cotton Association of India (CAI), the production is likely to be at 29.5 million bales for the cropping year 2023-2024. This is about 7-8 percent lower compared to last year, which stood at 31.9 million bales.

Cotton Association of India President Atul Ganatra told CNBC-TV18, “After 2008-2009, this is the lowest Indian cotton crop estimates.” He added this decline in production is largely on account of El Nino, reduction in cotton sowing area by five percent, and drop in cotton yields. The association has observed that yield will decline by 5-20 percent due to the unfavourable weather. Rajasthan is expected to take a huge hit when it comes to yields, a decline of over 40 percent.

However, Punjab will see an improvement of 50 percent in yields. Further, Gujarat will witness a drop of one million bales in production, the association estimates, followed by Maharashtra (which will be down by eight million bales). Further, in terms of percentage in sowing area, Tamil Nadu has seen the largest decline in sowing area for cotton by 80 percent, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

The growing decline in demand has further led to this change. Despite declining sowing area, the crop production remains unchanged for Tamil Nadu and Telangana. States like Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh are expected to witness a marginal rise in their sowing area. The association also highlighted the demand continues to outpace the supply in the country. Over the last few years, the cotton industry, especially the ginners in the country, were bleeding due to lower global cotton prices and higher domestic prices.

Also Read:World Cotton Day 2023: History, significance and theme

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

L&T Q2 Results: Management expects to “outperform” FY24 revenue and order inflow guidance

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Infrastructure and Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Ltd. is confident of outperforming its financial year 2024 guidance on order inflow and revenue growth.

The management in its earnings call mentioned that the revenue growth guidance between 12% and 15% as well as the order inflow guidance between 10% and 12% is likely to be “outperformed” in the current financial year.

For the September quarter, L&T reported a net profit of ₹3,222.6 crore, which was higher than the CNBC-TV18 poll of ₹3,048 crore. On a year-on-year basis, the company’s bottomline grew by 44.6%.

Revenue for the quarter grew 19.3% year-on-year to ₹51,024 crore, which was largely in-line with estimates of ₹50,210 crore. Operating profit or EBITDA grew by 15.1% from last year to ₹5,632 crore, while EBITDA margin fell 50 basis points year-on-year to 11%. However, the margin figure was higher than the projection of 10.5%.

The management during its earnings call mentioned that the company’s margins will begin to improve as older legacy projects get exhausted.

For the quarter, L&T’s order inflow grew by 72% year-on-year to ₹89,153 crore, out of which, international orders were worth ₹59,687 crore or 67% of the total order inflow. The total consolidated order book now stands at ₹4.5 lakh crore, of which, 35% come from international orders.

“The company now tops the list of international EPC Contractors working in the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region in terms of value for projects under execution,” said L&T’s Chairman & MD SN Subrahmanyan. “In the near term, we remain cautiously optimistic, considering the recent geopolitical developments,” he added.

L&T mentioned that the recent conflict in the Middle East has raised concerns about the potential increase in oil prices, which can worsen an already “fragile global economic situation.” However, the company remains optimistic to win new orders in Oil & Gas, industrialisation and energy transition projects in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region.

The management during the earnings call added that Saudi Arabia has steered clear of engaging in any conflict and that the country has so far not let up on any capex modernisation plans.

On Tuesday itself, the company won the Letter of Intent (LoI) for another “Ultra-Mega” onshore project from a prestigious client in the Middle East.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Trade Setup for November 1: Nifty 50 remains on the edge ahead of Fed rate decision

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A tumultous October finally came to an end on Tuesday with the Nifty 50 ending 2.8% lower. This turned out to be the first negative October for the index since 2018. The Nifty failed to gain for the third day in a row as the market now awaits a key interest rate decision from the US Federal Reserve late Wednesday night.

The month also saw Foreign Portfolio Investors withdrawing nearly $2.5 billion from Indian equities, taking the two-month outflow to well in excess of $5 billion. You can read more on that here.

For Wednesday’s session, the market will react to some strong results from Larsen & Toubro along with other result reactions from Bharti Airtel, Tata Consumer Products, JSPL among others. Britannia, Hero MotoCorp, Sun Pharma and Tata Steel are the Nifty 50 constituents reporting results in mid-week trading.

The market is currently in a 200-point range. It is unwilling to go past the 19,250 mark, but is holding on to the 19,000 mark on the downside as well.

Kunal Shah of LKP Securities said that the Nifty 50 is in a range between 18,900 and 19,250 and a breakout in either direction will trigger trending moves. “Broadly, the trend remains negative and only a close above 19,300 will signal a resumption of the uptrend,” he said.

The Nifty is likely to consolidate within this range of 18,980 – 19,200, said Shrikant Chouhan of Kotak Securities. He expects the markets to see mixed trends in the near-to-medium term with traders preferring to exit long positions below 18,980 levels.

After a brief surge back above the 43,000 mark on Monday, the Nifty Bank could not sustain the momentum, shedding another 200 points on Tuesday. The index had its first negative October since 2012 and the worst October since 2009. At current levels, the index is down 3,500 points from its recent peak of 46,310.

LKP’s Shah said that the upside resistance for the Nifty Bank is now at 43,500 and until there’s a breakout above this level, the overall trend of the index remains negative. On the downside, support is at 42,400 and a break below that may drag the index down to 41,500 – 41,000 range.

Mehul Kothari of Anand Rathi said that the Nifty Bank is stuck in a 43,200 – 42,600 range and only a move on either side can provide a clear direction to the index going foward.

What Are The F&O Cues Indicating?

Nifty 50’s November futures added 0.8% and 84,500 shares in Open Interest. They are now trading at a premium of 78.6 points from 80 points earlier. On the other hand, the Nifty Bank November futures shed 0.3% or 7,710 shares in Open Interest. Nifty 50’s Put-Call Ratio is now at 0.91 from 1.09 earlier.

GNFC has now entered the F&O ban from Wednesday’s trading session.

Nifty 50 on the Call side for November 2 expiry:

For this Thursday’s expiry, the Nifty 50 call strikes between 19,100 and 19,250 have seen addition in Open Interest, with the 19,200 call seeing the maximum Open Interest addition.

Nifty 50 on the Put side for November 2 expiry:

On the put side, while the 18,900 and 19,100 strikes for this Thursday’s expiry have seen Open Interest addition, the 19,000 strike has seen Open Interest shedding.

Lets take a look at the stocks that added fresh long positions on Tuesday, meaning an increase in both price and Open Interest:

Lets take a look at the stocks that added fresh short positions on Tuesday, meaning a decrease in price but increase in Open Interest:

Here are the stocks to watch out for ahead of Wednesday’s trading session:

• Larsen & Toubro: Management expects to “outperform” financial year 2024 order inflow guidance between 10% and 12% as well as revenue growth guidance between 12% and 15%. For the quarter, the company received orders worth ₹89,153 crore, 67% of which were international orders. More on that here.
• Bharti Airtel: Net profit down 31.8% from the June quarter to ₹1,341 crore, while revenue down 1.1% to ₹37,043.8 crore. Average Revenue per User (ARPU) at ₹203 from ₹190 quarter-on-quarter. India revenue up 10.9% year-on-year, while Africa revenue in constant currency terms up 19% from last year. Overall customer base at nearly 540 million across 16 countries.
• Tata Consumer Products: Net profit of ₹359 crore marginally higher than estimates of ₹328 crore. Revenue and EBITDA meet expectations, while EBITDA margin expands to 14.4% from 12.9% last year and higher than estimates of 14.1%.
• JSPL: September quarter revene at ₹12,250 crore misses expectations of ₹12,495 crore. Standalone EBITDA per tonne at ₹11,164, which was lower than expectations of ₹12,150. Share of exports increased to 13% from 12%, while net debt rose to ₹7,313 crore from ₹6,812 crore.
• Birlasoft: Reports constant currency revenue growth of 3.1%, higher than estimates that ranged between 2.3% and 2.5%. Margin rose 50 basis points despite wage hike impact for a month. Deal TCV at $271 million, up 86% sequentially and 63% year-on-year.
• Reliance, ONGC and OMCs: Windfall tax on crude petroleum will increase from ₹9,050 per tonne to ₹9,800 per tonne. Windfall tax on diesel will reduce from ₹4 per litre to ₹2 per litre. Windfall tax on petrol will remain nil, while that on ATF will be reduced to Nil from ₹1 per litre.
• Lupin: Gets Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the USFDA for its Mandideep Unit-2 manufacturing facility. The inspection closed with the facility getting an inspection classification of “No Action Indicated.”
• SBI Card & Payment Services: Launches Reliance SBI Card in collaboration with Reliance Retail.
• JSW Energy: Prashant Jain steps down as MD & CEO seeking early retirement from professional life to pursue personal interests. He will remain at his position till January 31, 2024.

What Are Global Cues Indicating?

Asian markets have opened higher ahead of the FOMC rate decision with most major markets trading with strong gains.

The Nikkei 225 has opened 2% higher, while the Topix is up a similar quantum. The Kospi in South Korea is up 0.8%, while the Kosdaq has risen 1.3% at the start of trade.

Futures of the Hang Seng are indicating a subdued start to the trading day but with a positive bias.

US markets ended higher overnight with benchmark indices posting their third consecutive monthly loss.

The Dow Jones advanced 0.4%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.65% and the Nasdaq ended with gains of 0.5%.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow